This is a two exposure blend, taken back to back. A 20s exposure was taken first of the sky using a fog filter. This filter allows the stars of the constellation to stand out more. Then a five minute exposure with the filter removed was taken in order to acquire enough starlight to illuminate the foreground.

These two images were merged in Photoshop. General adjustments of brightness and contrast were made using the Curves tool.

This is an Ancestral Puebloan dwelling hidden within the Bears Ears National Monument on the edge of a cliff with a 600 foot drop. This dwelling was probably abandoned around 800 years ago and is gradually softening into the Earth from which it came.

The constellation Ursa Major illuminates the dwelling and landscape. The stars of Ursa Major are perhaps the most recognizable in the Northern Hemisphere. The seven stars of the asterism The Big Dipper seem to be ubiquitous in cultures.